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Discovering Southern Iceland: From Hofn to Skogafoss on Day 7 of Your Journey

Most people who travel in Iceland plan their journey on the south side. South of Iceland is more touristic and popular than the north side and has many spots to see.

In my opinion, on the north side, there are not that many attractions but the landscape overall is beautiful, memorable, and representative of the country.

If you have just 3 or 4 days in Iceland head from Reykjavik to Hofn doind the Golden Circle on the way. It is one of the most beautiful short tours you can do in Iceland!

Sunset Iceland Dyrholaey Cape south of Iceland
Sunset Iceland Dyrholaey Cape southern Iceland

Hofn is usually the endpoint for the 3 or 4 days tour on the south side of Iceland.

You start the journey from Reykjavik, continue with the Golden Circle and end on Hofn.

South of Iceland from Hofn to Skogafoss

On the seventh day of our Iceland tour, we drove from Hofn to Skogafoss. It is a part of Iceland with many things to see. The landscape changes dramatically after each turn.

In just one day we saw glaciers, icebergs, glacier’s lagoons, lava fields, fjords …

In other words, we saw everything we could think of when speaking about Iceland.

Vanajokull Glacier Iceland from the road
Vanajokull Glacier Iceland south Iceland

Along with southern Iceland as soon as you approach Vatnajökull National Park you can see flat plains full of black sand.

These plains appeared after the glaciers melt. It was somehow a very sad view for me and made me realize more than ever how much damage we do to our planet.

A must-see place in Iceland is Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon.

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon Iceland
Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon Iceland

This is a glacial lake on the edge of Vatnajökull National Park and is formed from the water resulting after the glaciers melt.

We were witness to a very magnificent moment: one of the icebergs from the lagoon started its journey from the lake to the ocean.

We followed the piece of ice until it reached the ocean. What an incredible moment!

Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon
Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon

There are also boat trips available on the edge of the lagoon. You can take a boat and get closer to the icebergs from the lagoon.

On the beach between the lake and the ocean, right on the black sand were lying dozens of pieces of ice which you can photograph and admire.

The view was so incredible as we hardly decided to leave. For sure, we spent more at this spot more time than it was planned but it was very relaxing and beautiful!

Heading to Skogafoss from south of Iceland, on the right side of the road, tongues of glaciers appeared in our way and in front of the lakes and sandy plains complete the landscape.

Vatnajokull Glacier in Icelad
Vatnajokull Glacier in Icelad
Vatnajokull Glacier Tour Guide

Being so close to a glacier we took over the opportunity and book a hiking trip on the glacier.  We chose Skaftafell: Ice Cave Tour & Glacier Hike, a 4 hours tour that offers you the unique opportunity to enter a natural ice cave and explore Vatnajokull, the largest glacier in Europe.

It was something which we will not soon forget! As we’ve never been on a glacier the experience was very intense and unforgettable. This is a must-do thing in Iceland!

In order to visit the glacier, we chose to skip lunch and grab a sandwich but we did not regret our decision at all.

Vatnajokull Glacier Tour Iceland
Vatnajokull Glacier Tour Iceland

Leaving the glaciers behind we drive forward to our accommodation: Skogafoss waterfall in south Iceland.

In our way, we discovered the impressive lava fields from Eldhraun and Mýrdalssandur and the Basalt Rock formation from Reynisdrangar.

A trip on the south side of Iceland is not complete without a visit to Basalt Rock formation.

This interesting rock formation is a must-see destination on a black sand beach of the Atlantic Ocean very close to town Vik.

Vik Basalt Rock Iceland
Vik Basalt Rock Iceland

Being so popular and famous it is a very crowded destination. You will have to wait for a little for the perfect photo but worth it!

Dyrholaey Cape Arch
Dyrholaey Cape Arch

An epic way to end this tour in the south of Iceland is to see the sunset from Dyrholaey Cape.

The place is very close to Basalt Rock formation and is emblematic of its Arch with a Hole.

The white lighthouse transformed into a luxury hotel from that land strip surrounded by the ocean is the perfect destination to end an unforgettable day!

From Dyrholaey Cape the sunset is incredible!

How the sun reflected in the blue ocean and how the rocky Arch appeared in the sunset is incredible!

Sunset from Dyrholaey Cape toward black sand beach
Sunset from Dyrholaey Cape toward black sand beach

After sunset, we headed to our accommodation. We spend the night at Hotel Skogafoss a nice hotel located right near the Skogafoss waterfall.

The view from the restaurant is magnificent and the rooms are clean and well maintained. The location is perfect and the breakfast is OK. It is one of the best choices when driving along the Iceland Ring Road by car.

Skogafoss Iceland Waterfall in the morning
Skogafoss Iceland Waterfall in the morning

When we arrived it was already dark!
We had a very tiring day but what we saw on that day changed our perception of the planet!

Next day on our Journey we went from Skogafoss to Reykjavik doing the Golden Circle on the way. Continue reading our Iceland adventure here:

We wrote some more detailed articles on this subject here: